Everlast

The Webster Theater presents Everlast and Buddahead Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Everlast, shown here, once a part of the rap group House of Pain, became a solo artist in 1998 with the release of "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues," an acoustic, hip-hop-flavored record. He appeared on Santana's comeback album "Supernatural" and released "Eat at Whitey's" in 2000. His latest album, the moody "White Trash Beautiful," was released this year. Buddahead's adult alternative sound has been compared to pop groups such as Train and Coldplay.

by FRANK RIZZO, rizzo@courant.com and Hartford Courant, August 1, 2012

The show: A revival of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical “Carousel” at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam. First Impressions: You can tell right away from set designer Michael Schweikardt's gorgeously painted seashore and sky - subtly lit by John Lasiter - that this is going to be a “Carousel” of many colors, moods and perspectives. Rob Ruggiero directs this R&H classic with taste, honesty and understanding and an affection for all the characters in this heartfelt tale of two lost souls who find both brief and everlasting love.

There was something so utterly contemporary about Erik Schrody a.k.a. Everlast -- guitar slung across his chest, black doo-rag tied tight on his dome, and the stars and stripes of the American flag as backdrop -- as he sang his rap-rock hybrid. He's not so "of the moment" as to reek of urban-wannabe affectation like Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit. Instead, Everlast is one of the few white artists who succeeds in cross- referencing turntable scratching and raps with guitars and Neil Young-ish wailing.

Washington Post writer Walt Harrington considered it a family duty to go on Thanksgiving morning rabbit-hunting trips with his father-in-law in rural Kentucky. But he learned over the years to savor the slowed pace, the sense of humor and the rhythms of the rural life of his in-law and his hunting buddies. After first turning his observations into a book, he presents it in a film with the same name, "Everlasting Stream" (CPTV, 5 a.m. Friday), a name fraught with the kind of poetic metaphor to which the film occasionally succumbs.

Rocker-rapper (or rapper-rocker) Everlast presented nothing but music Saturday night at the Webster Theatre. Little more than a week removed from a Detroit show that was cut short by an outburst of violence allegedly prompted by his feud with the notorious Eminem, Everlast concentrated on pleasing a packed house of his fans. There was no mention of Eminem or the Real Slim Shady. Instead, Everlast, aka Whitey Ford, aka Erik Schrody, concentrated on what he does best, brewing up a potent concoction of hip-hop, funk and hard rock.

WHITEY FORD SINGS THE BLUES Everlast Tommy Boy Records Rappers stray into heavy metal all the time. The heavy beat and riffing is perfect for such a transition. But a rap artist experimenting with country? Everlast, leader of the rap group House of Pain, which had a big hit called "Jump Around," now wants to be Johnny Cash. "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues" is still rap. Except Everlast has picked up an acoustic guitar and is strumming along to his rap. Hmmm.

Fans of Marilyn Manson curious about the constant comparisons to somebody named Alice Cooper can find out for themselves on a new boxed set. "The Live and Crimes of Alice Cooper" (Warner Archieves/Rhino), a four-disc set to be released on Tuesday, includes liner notes by no less a shock rocker than John Lydon, the erstwhile Johnny Rotten, who begins his essay: "I know the words to every Alice Cooper song." As with Manson, there was a large visual component to the appeal of Cooper, so Tuesday also sees the release of his "Welcome to My Nightmare" concert from 1975.

The lyrical duel in rap has a history as long as hip-hop. The trouble with a field where "keeping it real" is as important as verbal dexterity is that artists or fans let it explode into real-life violence. That's what happened last weekend when a longstanding rapper's duel between Everlast and Eminem exploded into violence as Everlast played a show in Eminem's hometown. A group of people rushed the stage in a Detroit club after Everlast made some disparaging comments about Eminem.

EAT AT WHITEY'S Everlast Tommy Boy Records Erik Schrody's heart attack came the last day of his unusual, somewhat desperate return to recording. When Schrody, better known as Everlast, released "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues" in 1998, it was something quite different in pop music -- a bluesy, gritty, laid-back set of songs infused with a hip-hop authority he gained from the days when he led House of Pain, whose hit "Jump Around" is still a rap touchstone. He saw the album go triple platinum, toured for two years and had a Grammy-winning collaboration on Carlos Santana's "Supernatural."

Supernatural Santana Arista Records The band Santana's last album of new material, 1992's "Milagro," was a disappointing demonstration that the long-popular Latin-rock group was experiencing creative burnout. After a long recording layoff, "Supernatural" finds the group -- and its famous leader Carlos Santana -- returning with fully recharged batteries. "Supernatural," is half vintage Santana and half fresh contemporary rock. Guest turns by young rockers like Lauryn Hill, Everlast, Dave Matthews, Wyclef Jean, Eagle Eye Cherry and Rob Thomas of the group Matchbox 20 help steer much of the music in real-time directions.

Each Sunday, "Extraordinary Life" looks back on someone whose life made a difference. Helene R. Alisberg, 82, of Avon, died Dec. 11. Helene Alisberg was a tireless advocate for quality child care in Connecticut and worked for decades to help the state develop high standards for teachers and day-care centers. Her outstanding achievement was helping establish a child-care hot line that helps families find appropriate child-care resources. Helene grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., the oldest of four children born to Louis and Jennie Rosen.

Even roots rockers have roots, and Dave Alvin has an easy time tracing his: They mostly involved the Ashgrove. Alvin and his brother, Phil, spent a lot of time as teenagers at the now-closed Los Angeles club, soaking up music from the colorful array of characters who played there. "Ashgrove" is also the name of the title track on Alvin's latest album, his first collection of new material in six years. "It was a bar, but it was more than that," he says by phone from his home in L.A., before starting a solo tour that stops Sunday in New Haven.

The Webster Theater presents Everlast and Buddahead Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Everlast, shown here, once a part of the rap group House of Pain, became a solo artist in 1998 with the release of "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues," an acoustic, hip-hop-flavored record. He appeared on Santana's comeback album "Supernatural" and released "Eat at Whitey's" in 2000. His latest album, the moody "White Trash Beautiful," was released this year. Buddahead's adult alternative sound has been compared to pop groups such as Train and Coldplay.

TUCK EVERLASTING Walt Disney Home Entertainment, Rated PG, for ages 8 and older, approximately 90 minutes, DVD, $29.99; VHS, $22.99. "Tuck Everlasting" is a charming family film based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Natalie Babbitt. The story is about one summer early in the 1900s when a 15-year-old girl named Winnie (Alexis Bledel) decides to leave her strict parents' home after an argument. Winnie gets lost in the woods and stumbles upon the Tuck family.

Natalie Babbitt's "Tuck Everlasting" is said to be a treasured book, and Jay Russell's lyrical film version aims at taking a cherished place on the Disney video shelf of every young family. Certainly this tale of life, death and immortality hits high notes as it follows the peregrinations of the teenage Winifred Foster. Yet with its loving narration and ever so idyllic images, "Tuck" sometimes verges on self-parody. With Elisabeth Shue voicing over Russell's world of the moneyed and exclusive Fosters in 1914, "Tuck Everlasting" begins by sketching the enclosed and sheltered life of a poor little rich girl quietly played by the beautiful Alexis Bledel ("Gilmore Girls")

Rocker-rapper (or rapper-rocker) Everlast presented nothing but music Saturday night at the Webster Theatre. Little more than a week removed from a Detroit show that was cut short by an outburst of violence allegedly prompted by his feud with the notorious Eminem, Everlast concentrated on pleasing a packed house of his fans. There was no mention of Eminem or the Real Slim Shady. Instead, Everlast, aka Whitey Ford, aka Erik Schrody, concentrated on what he does best, brewing up a potent concoction of hip-hop, funk and hard rock.

POP / ROCK SAME AS IT EVER WAS House of Pain Tommy Boy Records House of Pain may be the most convincing white rap group yet. Best known for the hit "Jump Around" (about as moronic -- and million-selling -- a theme around), the group uses its Irish-American heritage like a badge, as if it were from the same downtrodden minority that originated rap. Its real entry to the genre is its work, which is hard and compelling as ever, although group leader Everlast can't get over the rumors of his own death (well it has been two years since the last album)

TUCK EVERLASTING Walt Disney Home Entertainment, Rated PG, for ages 8 and older, approximately 90 minutes, DVD, $29.99; VHS, $22.99. "Tuck Everlasting" is a charming family film based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Natalie Babbitt. The story is about one summer early in the 1900s when a 15-year-old girl named Winnie (Alexis Bledel) decides to leave her strict parents' home after an argument. Winnie gets lost in the woods and stumbles upon the Tuck family.

The lyrical duel in rap has a history as long as hip-hop. The trouble with a field where "keeping it real" is as important as verbal dexterity is that artists or fans let it explode into real-life violence. That's what happened last weekend when a longstanding rapper's duel between Everlast and Eminem exploded into violence as Everlast played a show in Eminem's hometown. A group of people rushed the stage in a Detroit club after Everlast made some disparaging comments about Eminem.

EAT AT WHITEY'S Everlast Tommy Boy Records Erik Schrody's heart attack came the last day of his unusual, somewhat desperate return to recording. When Schrody, better known as Everlast, released "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues" in 1998, it was something quite different in pop music -- a bluesy, gritty, laid-back set of songs infused with a hip-hop authority he gained from the days when he led House of Pain, whose hit "Jump Around" is still a rap touchstone. He saw the album go triple platinum, toured for two years and had a Grammy-winning collaboration on Carlos Santana's "Supernatural."